Album review: Propagandhi – At Peace

It’s a severe indictment of the times we live in that hyper-political punks Propagandhi – who will celebrate their 40th anniversary next year – remain as relevant as ever. Though hailing from Canada, since their inception they’ve been one of the foremost critics of American imperialism, capitalism and militarism, and the far-flung, negative effects of those things on the rest of the world.

The six-piece would surely be glad to not have to write any more songs about the widespread devastation that the joint forces of neoliberalism and neofascism have had on the world, and instead hang up their guitars. Sadly, things now are as fucked-up and desperate as they were when the band formed in the midst of the Reagan and Thatcher administrations, and, on the whole, they’re only getting worse – especially, on a personal level, given Trump’s recent bluster about turning Canada into the USA’s 51st state.

And so, despite its title, Propagandhi find themselves very much not at peace on this eighth album. Their first since 2017’s Victory Lap, At Peace wrestles with the strange duality of going back in time historically while advancing in age. Frontman Chris Hannah is in his mid-50s now (though it’s hard to find out his exact age online), and he definitely sounds older – certainly in comparison to the band’s high-octane, rawer, earlier records, but even compared to Victory Lap his voice is much softer in its delivery.

The music is also less frantic, less agitated, less aggressive. That doesn’t mean it’s any less effective, though. In fact, that contradiction only increases the tension on this record. Just listen to the ominous chug of opener Guiding Lights or the menacing warning to the ruling class towards the start of the title-track that ‘Your reckoning has begun’, and you realise that Propagandhi are as powerful a force as ever.

There’s humour here, too, especially on recent single Cat Guy. The song tackles the age-old ethical dilemma of having to choose between saving from drowning the family dog or baby Hitler (without, of course, the knowledge that that’s who the baby will grow up to be). The song pontificates on the morality of that choice, before Chris delivers its superb punchline: ‘As for me, I never learned to swim / Always been a cat guy anyway.’

Elsewhere, No Longer Young and Rented P.A. are the most overt ruminations here on getting older, while Benito’s Earlier Work examines the legacy – and recent rebirth – of fascism with brutally incisive wit, Vampires Are Real is a metaphor for the extremely divisive nature of current politics, and Fire Season poignantly addresses the notion of mortality in the context of an apocalyptic world.

It all combines for a phenomenal album that, while not their loudest or fastest, is one of their most important.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Rise Against, Strike Anywhere, FEVER 333

At Peace is released on May 2 via Epitaph